"Democracy" isn't what it used to be, at least if you're a radical progressive.

 

For the progressive group Indivisible, it's a code word for rigging the nation's electoral system to make sure they never lose control of government again.

 

Of course step one is seizing the White House and Congress in 2020. Step two is reforming American democracy. Translation--a fundamental transformation of America.

 

Their plan calls for creating new states, and Democrat senators, by granting statehood to Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

 

They would overhaul how we vote for Congress, stack the Supreme Court and term-limit justices, expand voting rights to illegal immigrants, criminals, and 16-year-olds, and break up media companies and subsidize local journalism, a recipe for a propaganda machine.

 

Indivisible bills its plan as a way to save American democracy. But between the lines, it reads more like a manifesto for erasing the Constitution.

It seems Gov. Tony Evers doesn’t want to answer the really hard questions.

For the past eight months, the governor’s team has blocked MacIver News reporters from key email lists and press briefings, silencing the taxpayers’ voice in Evers’ east wing.


That’s why the MacIver Institute sued Evers last week. The federal case says the administration is violating MacIver’s rights to free speech, freedom of the press and equal access.

Legal experts agree MacIver’s case is strong. One UW law professor told the Associated Press, “It’s practically a slam dunk,” while his colleague said Evers’ actions raise legitimate First Amendment concerns.

Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders hit Evers hardest, saying he should be able to handle reporters from a conservative outlet if he has what it takes to be governor.

Our country relies on a vigilant press asking tough questions. Does Evers have what it takes to answer them? MacIver’s lawsuit will be a key test.

Imagine hiring an industry’s top lobbyist to lead the state agency in charge of handing out contracts to that very industry.

In Wisconsin, we don’t have to imagine. Just look to the Department of Transportation, where Secretary Craig Thompson wasn’t even on the job a week before he signed off on two single-bid contracts worth almost two million dollars.

In his first eight months running the DOT, Thompson has approved $320 million in single-bid contracts. That’s just $12 million less than his predecessor under Governor Walker approved in two years.

A 2017 audit found tens of millions in wasted taxpayer dollars thanks to single-bid contracts, doled out without a competitive bidding process.

Until Thompson took over, stamping out that waste had become a crusade at DOT. But under the lobbyist-turned bureaucrat’s leadership, that has apparently come to a screeching halt.

Imagine that.

Did you know 65 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have at least one area with a shortage of dental providers, according to federal data?

Access to dental care is a big concern when it comes to children, the elderly, and the disabled. It’s a real problem with real health implications.


But the free market has a solution—a recent study by the MacIver Institute describes a new profession, dental therapy. Dental therapists are licensed to perform more procedures than hygienists, and allowing them here would help increase access by adding to the pool of qualified professionals.

Tomorrow a Senate committee will hear testimony on a bill by Sen. Dave Craig doing just that, allowing those who complete required education and pass state exams to be granted a dental therapy license.

Dentistry is just one area where regulation stands in the way of solving real-world problems. But soon, lawmakers will have the chance to bust one of those barriers.

Fresh off his most recent trip to the US southern border, Rep. Glenn Grothman describes the crisis, what's being done, and what he thinks needs to happen next.

In December, the legislature passed a law preventing "sue and settle," a business crushing tactic where the attorney general sues a company, settles out of court, and keeps the money for himself and his liberal allies. Attorney General Josh Kaul wants a piece of the action. He granted himself the power to pick and choose when to follow the new law, opening the door for him to sue private sector enemies and rake in huge settlements without giving lawmakers a seat at the table. Legislative leaders don't care much for that. Last Thursday they sued Kaul to force him to comply with the law.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see Governor Tony Evers’ new payroll fraud task force appears to be a gift to Big Labor. The task force, heavily slanted toward union interests, has the stated goal of cracking down on alleged payroll fraud—often just mistakes thanks to a thick web of red tape. But Labor’s outsized role has business advocates nervous it could become a cudgel to hammer employers.

Ronald Reagan famously compared government to a big baby: an insatiable appetite at one end, and no sense of responsibility at the other. The ink is barely dry on the latest state budget, and DOT secretary Craig Thompson is already hungry for more. Raising the gas tax remains very much on the table, he recently said, despite an influx of new money into his bloated agency. It’s a reminder to taxpayers that government’s hunger for your money never ends.

In this special edition of the MacIver Newsmakers podcast, MacIver Institute President Brett Healy sits down with Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn the day after his inauguration. Hagedorn, a judicial conservative who faced blistering attacks over his Christian faith during a hard-fought election, won in what many considered a surprise election. He takes over for longtime liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson and shares his thoughts on everything from the campaign to Christian Yelich, exclusively with MacIver.

During budget deliberations, Gov. Tony Evers urged Republicans in the Legislature to "fix the damn roads," as the governor's salty slogan went. The GOP obliged, adding tens of millions in assistance for local road repair projects. But last week, DOT Secretary Craig Thompson said the funding would go toward a competitive grant program, which could go toward Milwaukee's boondoggle trolley.